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Since the global release of the World Wide Web in 1994, the migration pattern of the highly trained individuals from developing nations, often referred to as Brain Drain, has dramatically increased. Despite debates over the positives and negative consequences, there is mounting evidence that these migration flows are both a product, and a compounding engine, of asymmetrical global development. Rarely considered, though, is the role played by new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) like the Internet. However, contemporary trends do suggest a strong association between the global diffusion of new ICTs and the increase in migration from less-developed to advanced nations or what this paper refers to as Digital Brain Drain. Also, not considered is how Foreign Aid efforts like ICT for development, or ICT4D, initiatives may be inadvertently contributing to Brain Drain, and perhaps paradoxically neutralizing efforts to reduce global disparities like those promoted by the United Nations' Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To begin to fill the gap in the literature, this paper offers various intersectional lenses by which to frame the phenomenon of Digital Brain Drain and an analysis of current trends, while also suggesting a strategic research agenda to assist policy-makers address this important 21st century intersectional, problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the human population has reached its peak in both the developing countries and developed countries like India and China. An increase in personnel density ended up being a hard task to maintain or manage people flow in socio-public places. However, people flow management is out of control for humans, which may also cause some safety damages. This paper aims to give an optimal solution for people flow with the help of machine learning, deep learning, and also AI-cameras are used for counting the number of people entering and leaving a user-defined place. Here, also the centroid tracking and centroid detecting algorithms are used to count the number of people together with their direction. This technique helps to replace manual security,in-store traffic management, and much more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of digital technologies in all dimensions within modern society became possible as a result of the 4th Industrial Revolution. It leads to qualitative changes in all significant areas, including higher education, and makes its digital transformation inevitable. At the initial stage the introduction of digital technologies into educational activities was an initiative of some Higher education institutions, but now this process acquires a systemic character in most countries with developed educational systems. The governments of these countries adopt the general digitalization strategies, as well as strategies for digital transformation of science and higher education. The article focuses on tertiary education. The digital transformation of higher education is associated with the development of digital services, infrastructure modernization, data management and human resources. The paper identifies trends in education digital development. The authors carried out the ranking assessment of countries' potential for digital technologies development. For the ranking six key indicators in twelve countries with the most developed education systems located on different continents were taking into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purchasing power parity theory (PPP), one of the widely investigated areas in International Finance, proposes that prices of goods ought to be the same in both local and foreign economies or internationally. This paper examined the PPP theory for a group of 16 developed countries using powerful statistical panel data analyses that put into consideration dependence on cross-sections in panel data. The paper used the Pesaran panel unit root test, the cointegration test of Westerlund, the linear Augmented Mean Group (AMG) and Common Correlated Effect Mean Group (CCEMG) estimators. In addition, this study extended the linear AMG and CCEMG estimators to nonlinear AMG and CCEMG estimators in examining the long-run PPP theory. The test of unit root revealed that all the variables are integrated of order one. Since all variables were I(1), tests of cointegration were conducted to see whether there are long-run relationships amongst the variables. The tests of cointegration depicted the appearance of long-run relationships and hence, the occurrence of PPP in this group of countries. Furthermore, the long-run relationship was evaluated using both linear (AMG and CCEMG) and the extended nonlinear (AMG and CCEMG) estimators. It was seen that the PPP theory is valid in the long-run and there is nominal exchange rate appreciation and depreciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformations that have taken place in the social and productive structures of economically advanced countries are to be correlated to a new structure of urban networks and territorial relations, from which it results that a vast series of activities and functions are to be considered no longer subject to localization constraints and thresholds dimensional. From this emerges a wider territorial participation in the development process, which ends up affecting the regional articulation, giving rise to the formation of reticular spatial structures [1]. It comes out the idea of sustainable mobility was than born, which was based on giving a greater role to public transport, pedestrian and bicycle movements, which are much more efficient, thanks to which you can in turn reduce time waste, pollutant emissions and increase safety at urban areas without limiting mobility. In light of these aspects, in this paper we highlight, in parallel, what has been achieved with a view to sustainability in two realities: Brindisi, a city in southern Italy, and Cracow, a Polish city. They are two realities that highlight what has been done and what are the indications coming from the stakeholders. It is possible to move in this direction for future planning and for the adoption of sustainable mobility plans adhering to territorial needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road safety is a major global concern for today's rapid world that has no time to waste. The concept of Road safety auditing (RSA) is well in implementation in developed nations like USA, Australia, Qatar etc. However it is not in a desired state of implementation in developing nations. RSA is an organized procedure to assess the quality and conditions in terms of Safety standards of the existing roads or proposed road projects. This is a valuable tool to anticipate the occurrences of road crashes or fatalities and it also indicates the approach to rectify the safety issues proactively. With the help of comprehensive amount of data from conducted RSA, the governments can draft and upgrade the protocols for designing and building safer roads for all kinds of road users. The aim of this study is to emphasize the need of RSA at DPR stage or design phase to curb the crashes and fatalities before they occur. A stretch of a link road connecting SH-94/MDR-103 and NH-62 was chosen for this study. This link road acts as a bypass for Suratgarh City and connects the traffic coming from on SH-94 Hanumangarh to NH-62. According to the local residents of Suratgarh City, the said portion of the road reports 3-4 major crashes every month, making it a perfect candidate for the study as the crashes are mostly because of design flaws which are pointed out in the paper. In the later part of the study, customized solutions are provided so as to rectify the fatal issues of the design to enhance the safety for road users. Towards the end, the study suggests some changes that can be incorporated with the concept of the Highway alignment and profiling for the concerned authorities or Governments to boost up the safety of their road users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experience of industrialized countries shows that a high level of organization of production is determined by a large share of products with high added value. Before independence, the Republic of Uzbekistan was a unilaterally developed economy, that is, a country producing only raw materials, now it is on its way to becoming a highly industrialized state, determining the path of development based on increased production and export of various types of finished products. To this end, the use of the cluster system was chosen as a priority to achieve a higher level of industrialization with the production of high value-added products. The research paper highlights the role, importance of industrialization in the economy of the republic, the advantages of using the cluster in the production of finished products with high added value in textile production, the possibility of improving the living standards of the population, especially with giving priority to the extensive use of the cluster in increasing the level of industrialization of the Fergana region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the recent decades, green technology policy has been widely discussed amongst academic scholars, industrial practitioners and policy makers. It is still considered as one of the significant features in regards to global sustainable consumption and production in many countries. Malaysia is no exception, to which the concept of green technology is still in its infancy as compared to that of developed nations. To this day, green technology, and inevitably its policies, have faced obstacles such as a lack of local expertise and minimal government initiatives, which in turn results in a lack of market demand towards sustainable production and consumption of green products and services. This article provides a comprehensive review of green technology and related policies that could provide a basis for further research in addressing the said concerns. Three questions are proposed in this paper, creating the foundation for conducting a research with regards to the importance of green technology policy within Malaysia, the challenges faced in its implementation, as well as its effectiveness against that of other developing countries. This in turn could potentially contribute towards the nation's progressive growth of national sustainable consumption and production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores has been gaining a lot of attention in both the academic research and the industry practices. A voluminous study has examined the effects of ESG scores on the operating performances and market performances of the firm and found mix results. Although the dominant literature provided the evidence of positive impact of ESG scores on firm's performance, most of the studies have focused only on developed countries, hence still there is a lack of empirical findings in developing countries. The aim the paper was to provide preliminary analysis on the value relevance of ESG disclosure in Indonesian listed banks. The study observed a sample of five listed banks in the period 2009-2019. Using multiple regression analyses, the study finds that ESG disclosure has a value relevance. The finding is robust, even after controlling for internal and market performance of the bank. Further analysis shows that the social component of ESG is the driver of the value relevance of ESG in banks. The study argues that the focus of Indonesian banks' CSR activities is on the society, therefore the social aspects of ESG affect the market value of the banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of Things (IoT) becomes the backbone of the advanced countries and it has a real contribute to exchange the traditional style or way of practical life, even personal life into smart style, with (IoT) technology the life become more and more easy and professional. Internet of Things achieves various applications coordinate with sensors and standard protocols to apply what is called machine -to- machine connection (M2M), in this paper we will talk more about the concept of (M2M), the main component of internet of things and finally the common protocols that is used in network, in addition to that this work present an IOT operation with processing system using camera for capturing image and Xilinx system generator(XSG)models for designing image processing algorithms and the result of the processing is an image with black and white for edge detection, thresholding models and gray color image for gray enhancement model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides designing methodical recommendations and using their results to improve traffic safety in transport exploitation. The system of environmental regulation and standardization has been carried out in all advanced countries such as in the Republic of Uzbekistan, as in other countries, on the scientific basis. The concept of ecosystems consists of a set of different organisms that interact with each other and with the environment in which they operate, taking into account the long-term coexistence of this organic collection. Environmental security is defined as the ability of an individual, society, state, natural resources and the environment to withstand a hidden threat posed by anthropogenic, man-made or natural disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the Covid-19 virus has become a global pandemic, which started in the Chinese province of Wuhan and spread around the world, The aim of the present study is to discuss the most important and latest methods of tracking Covid-19 patients and the strategies followed by developed countries in integrating digital technology to control the epidemic, it also covers the most important issues and discusses the difficulties these technologies as well as how people interact with and feel about the use of this type of technology. Among these methods used, are those developed by technology companies in cooperation with telecom companies, such as Covid-19 patient tracking applications that rely on raising case information. These applications have been effective (GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth), as also the most important prevention measures to be followed and symptoms that are likely to appear on infected or carriers of the virus have been announced by global health agencies, which have been accepted all over the world. In this paper we present. A progressive of digital solutions technologies from the methods used to confront COVID-19 since the appearance of the first case used to control and stop the spread of the pandemic and track infected people, to the contemporary technologies in use, depending on the country used for each of these strategies as well, in addition to the most prominent issues that impede these preventive methods. Then there are the advantage and disadvantages of these technologies, by analyzing the different features of contemporary technology in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, we provide a window of ideas for reviewing technological advances used to reduce and control the spread of the epidemic. Despite the emergence of various studies related to modern technology towards COVID-19, there are still limited applications and contributions of technology in this battle. On-going progress in modern technology has contributed to improving people's lives and hence there is a solid conviction that validated research plans including artificial intelligence will be of significant advantage in helping people to fight this infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for urgent actions regarding the worsening climate crisis has been stressed over and over again through campaigns, reports, international conferences and treaties regarding climate, there are various discussions regarding the best ways to mitigate the crisis and strategic actions are taken at various levels, from local to national and international. But unfortunately, there is still not a clear and cohesive effort to address the climate crisis at a global level, and therefore the many local and national initiatives have little impact in terms of decreasing or reversing the effects of climate change. Thus, one can note that the different approaches to the climate issue by various states are shaped by their particular economic and infrastructural development. In this respect, we can understand the climate action not as a sort of a reductionist policy in relation to the classic coal and petroleum-based economy, but as a strategy of ecological modernization. From this perspective we are asking what are the challenges of ecological modernization for a particular category of states - the postcommunist periphery of the European Union, such is the case of Romania, which is, alongside Bulgaria, one of the least developed countries amongst the post-communist camp. We will try to explore the way in which Romania is trying to shape its 21st century strategy for eco-modernization and how, at the same time, it's trying to fall in line with the European requirements that the EU assumed as a part of the Paris Agreement and through the European Green Deal. Therefore, in our paper we are trying to answer the following questions: how is Romania dealing with its post-communist industrial past in terms of eliminating sources of pollution, switching to sustainable energy and designing public policies aimed to engender a greener economy? What is the role the Eu should play in relation to its less developed members? We are planning to address the above mentioned questions by using Joseph Huber's theoretical framing of the concept of ecological modernization, and also Martin Jänicke's approach to the concept to provide a better understanding of the challenges faced by Romania in its struggle to tackle the climate crisis, and of the ways in which these can be successfully mitigated by the Romanian authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developed countries, the importance and development of sharing economy in tourism, as a new economic model in tourism, has been increasingly discussed in recent decades. In our country, sharing economy in tourism has not yet been sufficiently explored in official reports and academic literature. On the other hand, in practice, there are several collaborative platforms used to search, book and pay for accommodation that consumers in Serbia use. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess the situation and identify opportunities for developing a sharing economy in tourism in Serbia, from a consumer point of view, based on experience in developed countries. In the paper an empirical survey was conducted, using a survey method, on a sample of 500 respondents. The results obtained gave an insight into the extent to which consumers in Serbia participate in the sharing economy in tourism, which factors influence their satisfaction with using collaborative platforms and what the opportunities and challenges of participating in sharing economy in tourism are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the effective management of rainwater. Given the current climate change, which is currently faster than anticipated, environmental issues are very timely. These sudden changes are mainly caused by human activity. The most noticeable climate change is the increase in temperature and changes in the rainfall regime. These two changes are closely linked. The average consumption of drinking water per capita is over 100 liters of water per day in civilized advanced nations. But about 50% of this consumption does not need to have quality drinking water, so rainwater can be used as a substitute. The basis of success is its correct collection and subsequent storage. The aim of the paper is an optimization of the design of a suitable system of use of rainwater in households and its evaluation from the financial point of view. The purpose of rainwater systems is to minimize water consumption from the water supply system and to effectively use rainwater in the household while achieving cost-optimal levels. There is also an effort to reduce the amount of rainwater drained away from the land to lessen the sewerage network and reduce the risk of flooding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents and analyses actual problems of quality of education in the world system for training of specialists. The current state of availability of genuine problems of education quality in the global system for training of specialists in many countries, including Ukraine, was examined. A number of previously unresolved aspects of the overall problem have been defined as impeding the implementation and development of the education quality system. The primary tasks required for the implementation of the education quality system in specialist training are also examined. The key directions for developing and improving the quality system of education in specialty training are established. The important for today criteria of quality of education necessary for realization of process of preparation of specialists was analysed. In the article was analysed the experience of advanced countries in solving some problems of education quality in for training of specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transgenic animal refers to an animal that has purposefully had its genome modified by direct human interference to achieve a specific modification goal. This method involves foreign DNA being introduced to the animal using recombinant DNA techniques. Usually, animal modifications are done for specific purposes, like for aesthetics, creating animals that glow in the dark to those that are designed purposely for agricultural and economic output like fast-growing salmon to supplement existing production capacities. Also, to monitor newly produced drugs or a new medical technique treatment of disease before applying on humans aiming to protect potential side effects. Whatever the purpose of creating such exotic organisms are human curiosity and capacity to modify life itself is here to stay. In this paper, we present a review of the advantages and disadvantages of this approach since it was first introduced to the world and subsequent discoveries gathered in the few decades since the promises and limitations of creating transgenic animals and organizations which are responsible for controlling regulations have also been outlined. We also looked into the rules and regulations guiding this very sensitive scientific endeavor by various international and national bodies (with emphasis on developed countries regarding transgenic animals). We highlighted some of the modern scientific developments that promise to have a massive impact in the field of genetically engineering animals. In the end, the future of using the technique, or risk potentials was reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been seen accelerating and improving the quality of life of many people around the world, including the people in developing countries. Since its commencement in the early 1990s, the Internet has virtually provided access to various kinds of materials, for various purposes. Since then, the authors have discussed extensively the virtual services through the e-readiness of developed countries. In contrast, there is a gap in this issue, where only limited works have been carried out on assessing the e-readiness in developing countries. This includes the Arab nations, particularly Iraq. Therefore, this paper address this gap by identifying the main factors e-readiness for the public sector in Iraq that fit with the Iraqi situation in addition to determining the level of e-readiness of Iraqi organizations in public sector. The results showed that the human capabilities and successful policies of the Ministry of Science and Technology that used to administrate the E-Business played a key role in increasing the electronic readiness of the department and starting towards the transformation of e-governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Increasing numbers of older adults cross-nationally are without children or partners in later life and therefore likely have greater reliance on non-kin (e.g., friends). This pattern may be particularly pronounced in country contexts that emphasize friendship. This paper hypothesizes that those who lack kin (e.g., children, partners) and/or who live in countries with a stronger emphasis on friendship have more friends in their networks. While these hypothesized patterns are consistent with interdisciplinary literatures, they have not been tested empirically and therefore remain overlooked in current "aging alone" narratives. Method. This study combines individual-level data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, Wave 6) with nation-level data from the European Values Survey (EVS) to estimate multilevel negative binomial models exploring number of friends among those aged 50+ who lack kin across 17 countries. Results. Older adults who lack kin or whose kin are unavailable report more friends in their networks, particularly in countries with a higher percentage of people who believe that friends are "very important" in life. Discussion. This paper challenges dominating assumptions about "aging alone" that rely heavily on lack of family as an indicator of "alone." Future studies of "kinlessness" should consider the extent to which friendship is correlated with lack of kin, particularly in more socioeconomically developed nations. Previous research on "aging alone" may have overestimated risk in more privileged countries that already emphasize friendship, but underestimated risk in familycentered countries where "kinlessness" and alternative sources of support are less common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the study is due to the increasing number of cyber-attacks on management automation systems, among which computer sabotage occupies a special place. In this class of cybercrime, risk dynamics as the probability of occurrence of damages of a certain value are studied. Risk dynamics is tracked over the past five years for the most developed countries and globally. It is shown that both the frequency and the severity of computer sabotage, despite the pandemic, are steadily increasing. This calls for international and national action. The findings of this paper prove that computer crime of the "computer sabotage" type should be seen as a separate type of computer crime, with a tendency to grow. Today it has become a cross-border phenomenon, and combating it only within national territories will not be as effective as it should be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold formed steel sections are extensively used in developed countries for a wide range of applications like roofs in the form of deck sheeting and also as structural elements like beam and column. In a developing country like India, where use of conventional hot rolled steel sections itself is in developing stages, the use of cold formed steel is very less. But if cold formed built-up sections are developed efficiently, cold formed sections can be used for wide range of applications where spans are minimum and fewer loads are acting. Structural behaviour of cold formed sections based on the different type of fasteners was studied in this paper. Behaviour of cold formed sections mainly based on welding and bolts are compared and studied. Strength aspects of cold formed sections due to different types of fasteners along with their mode of connection was studied. Studies shows significant changes in behaviour of similar members were obtained by varying the type of fasteners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the European regional policy is to contribute to the development of backward regions in particular, the restructuring of declining industrial areas, and revitalization of deprived neighborhoods. The emphasis is focused on creating sustainable jobs and improving the economic, social and territorial 'cohesion' of the Union. EU regional policy is considered as the investment policy. It is supposed to support job creation, competitiveness, economic growth, quality of life and sustainable development. These investments come out from the objectives of Europe 2020 Strategy support. Regional policy is an expression of the EU solidarity with less developed countries and regions. This policy is used how to concentrate the sources in areas and sectors where investments have maximum impact. Paper discusses the assignment system of European regional policy having competence in the management of Strategy 2020 aspects and tools system and its implementation within the EU regional policy. This article will analyze how the Strategy 2020 is implemented into EU Regional policy processes, how important role it plays within the current European debt crisis to assure sustainable economic growth in the European Communities and enhance the EU competitiveness within the international economics environment. By means of analysis, comparative analysis methods followed by logical deduction the main aim of this paper is to figure out how and in what way the Strategy 2020 within the technology and innovation implementation processes in EU Regional policy can affect the sustainable economic growth in terms of the social and economic development promotion measurements. The EU position analysis in international economic relations will also be the object of study with regards to its competitiveness enhancement possibilities within the global economic environment while using the latest science and technology achievements as a synergic output of the EU regional policy and Strategy 2020 interaction. The goal of all those efforts is supposed to lead to sustainable social and economic development and better quality of life in European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowdsourced delivery is a potential solution for last-mile challenges. It requires a critical mass of both customers and couriers, whose expectations need to be matched. This proves to be difficult in developed countries, but might be easier in developing ones. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether matching stakeholder expectations for crowdsourced local delivery is easier to achieve in developing than in developed countries. A framework with six expectations is designed and tested with an online survey conducted with potential customers and couriers in Sri Lanka and Germany. Results show that matching stakeholder expectations is easier in Sri Lanka than in Germany. Out of the six expectations, three were better aligned in Sri Lanka and three were equally well aligned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current pandemic (COVID-19) that the world faces, there is a dire need to develop a more resilient municipal solid waste system to cushion its effect. To achieve that, a robust knowledge of the current state and future directions required through research is pertinent as municipal solid waste management practices vary from regions all over. This study covers a holistic review of available literature regarding this topic from up to 20 years. The study adopted the PRISMA method, which is a structured and robust literature process for identifying and selecting relevant articles. The results from this review revealed that very few studies have been conducted to help create a more sustainable solid waste practice that can address several issues regarding public health emergencies and virus spread in a pandemic era. Also, it was observed that most recommendations did not foresee or address the pandemic era, as well as showing some conflicting reports in one or more cases. Therefore, this article points out the knowledge gaps regarding the safe sorting and collection of waste to inhibit spread during a pandemic and to stimulate future research in municipal solid waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the mental health of workers is increasing attention by academic management research as it has been identified as the leading cause of work disability in most developed countries. Thus, the effective management of this intangible asset has emerged as a hot research topic within organizations as it can impact positively in firm's competitiveness.To this end, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emerges as an increasing popular therapy for improving mental health and psychological flexibility, thus favoring the development of positive psychological capital among workers that can improve organizational results. Within this context, this paper carries out a systematic review of academic research on the use of ACT interventions to increase psychological capitals within organizational contexts which the aiming to offer a comprehensive reflection of the existing state of the art, gaps in current research, and future directions on the topic. A sample composed of 42 academic articles published in peer-reviewed international journals until 2022 constitutes the knowledge base of the study. The results of this study provides a cohesive, synthesized and organized view of the recent developments of the efficacy of ACT in management field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Slovak Republic shows low innovation performance compared to developed countries. One of the reasons is the significant technological gap of public R&D organizations. In order to improve this status, technological upgrading in public R&D organizations was systematically supported by the national government. In total, 14 strategic research infrastructures, university science parks and research centres were funded via European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF). These infrastructures were built by the most respected national public universities and the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The infrastructures show a tendency to specialize in line with the R&D priority areas identified by the national Smart specialization strategy (RIS3). The aim of the paper is to introduce the trends in cooperation with companies, as well as the services provided to foster economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developed countries dominate the city logistics literature, which discusses the real cases that occur, and the numbers of cases have significantly increased over time. One hand, it is argued that the city characteristics in developed countries differ from those in developing countries. Different characteristics generate different problems and also a different approach to problem-solving. This paper provides practices of city logistics in developing countries. The purpose of the present study is to identify typical city logistics problems and the dominant factors of city logistics practices in developing countries. This paper describes literature-based research that has sought to understand the practices of city logistics in developing countries. The literature review process used a bibliometric analysis and followed by a systematic literature review to organize 132 papers relating to the concept and the practice of city logistics. We identify the typical problems or subjects of city logistics that emerged in developing countries are related to transportation networks, routing, loading and unloading systems, and collaborative planning. Meanwhile, several factors that are often considered in city logistics in developing countries are transportation network, dense of the urban area, the scale of distribution, service level, and the mission of administrator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current issue of finance in Slovakia is closely linked to the overall functioning of the European Union. However, it is worth mentioning the overall summary of the economy and its development. At the beginning of the 21st century, Slovakia can be characterized as a mediumdeveloped industrial country with a highly industrialized economy. The current structure, profile and performance of the economy are the result of long-term developments, which have been influenced by internal and external factors. In the first chapter of this paper we focused on a detailed description of the origin of the financial market in Slovakia. We also described the main tendencies that influenced the development of the financial market in Slovakia. The second chapter is devoted to the division of the financial market of the Slovak Republic into individual sectors according to the National Bank of Slovakia. We have clearly defined and described each sector. The last chapter of the article focuses on the evaluation of the current state of the financial market in Slovakia during 2018. We consider the greatest added value of this article to be a summary of knowledge of the origin of the Slovak financial market due to the absence of similar publications and also an overall analysis of the development of the Slovak financial market during 2018. We believe that our article will be a contribution and a possible basis for further research in the financial market of the Slovak Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of significant corporate tax disparity between the United States and other developed countries, businesses that have historically been United States based are exploring opportunities to utilize the more favorable tax laws of other developed countries through the establishment of affiliated entities in lower tax nations, or through inversion transactions. One method that can accomplish income shifting to lower taxed countries using entities in these countries is through transfer pricing. Transfer pricing can be used between two related companies to generate taxable revenue in a lower taxed country and a related tax-deductible expense in the higher taxed country. Despite IRS regulations to assure that transfer-pricing transactions are always considered arm's length between related entities, there is significant opportunity for flexibility and income shifting, and opportunity for the IRS to audit and litigate against transactions considered to not be arms length or in violation of the established transfer pricing guidelines. This paper reviews a history of two significant transfer pricing cases and discusses historical key court viewpoints that need to be considered when transfer-pricing policy is established between related parties for both tangible property as well as intangible property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the scientific mobility of Chinese returnees. Based on an analysis of scientific affiliation data in the Web of Science between 2008 to 2019, the paper explores the distribution of Chinese returnees from temporal and regional perspectives. The results confirm that there is an increasing number of Chinese migrant researchers who return home, and that mainly come back from developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrosion has been in existence since man began to process ores into metals. Corrosion is the deterioration of a metal due to its interaction with its environment. This paper highlights the global and economic effects of corrosion in the society and amongst various industries. Extensive research is required regarding corrosion control methods and this should be carried out by companies and countries concerned. Failure to do so would result in more damage than could be predicted. Extreme consequences of corrosion are seen in loss of lives as well as buildings, bridges, etc. High rise structures have collapsed due to deterioration of certain parts of their construction material. Some developed countries already spend millions of dollars on extensive research on the control of corrosion so as to prevent losses of property and lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study of human mortality pattern is a significant area for any nation to maintain a good social-economy in the next projection decades. The declining in mortality trend gives a good impression of what the nation has done towards macro citizen in one nation. Selection of mortality tool can be complex based on the method and analysis approach adapted. Lee-Carter model is adapted because of its simplicity and reliability of the outcome results. Implementation of Lee-Carter in finding a fitting model and hence its projection has been used worldwide in most of mortality research in developed countries. This paper studies the mortality pattern of Malaysia using original model of Lee-Carter and its extension of Hyndman-Ullah. The data is indexed by age of death and year of death from 1984 to 2012, in which are supplied by Department of Statistics Malaysia. The modeling results are modeled using Rstudio and the keen analysis can be focus on Malaysia’s social-economics and insurance related aspect. This paper can be extended to another variety of Lee-Carter extensions and any stochastic mortality tools by using same mortality data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the world women are underrepresented in physics and related career fields. This can be explained by the fact that women are not given access to various resources and opportunities. Even in developed countries such as Italy, Spain, and China, women have fewer resources and opportunities than men. The situation is worse in less developed countries and especially in African countries where gender consideration remains a major matter. The overall attitude tends to underestimate women in strategic careers and positions. It is sad that very few women are represented in science and technology. Furthermore, the percentage of women in science, especially in physics, can be viewed as meaningless compared to men in our country. Previous studies have shown that in Cameroon, the percentage of women in physics drops sharply at the postgraduate level and, consequently for physics careers, for instance, in the teaching sector. It is worth noting that in Cameroon, women have made little progress in physics in the last few years. It is still challenging to overcome the barriers that hinder their success in physics. In this paper, the statistics of women enrolled in physics and women teaching physics in Cameroonian universities and their career paths are presented and discussed. Some recommendations are made in order to improve and encourage women in physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I consider whether and how measures of economic exclusion, such as the relative poverty rate, should reflect rising inequality at the top of the income distribution. While most scholars of poverty in developed countries adopt a relative definition that identifies someone as poor if they lack sufficient resources to participate fully in "mainstream" society, the definition of "mainstream" has remained unchanged at the national median over the last halfcentury despite a massive upward redistribution of resources. I argue, based on studies of consumption and firm behavior, that US economic life is no longer centered on the median person. I then propose two modifications to the standard relative poverty metric that allow it to reflect the way the economy has shifted due to rising income inequality in general and income divergence between regions of the country in particular. Trends using the updated measure diverge sharply from those using standard poverty metrics, showing much larger increases in economic exclusion over time and higher rates of exclusion in high income regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death and dying remain taboo in modern societies. Care at the end-of-life is limited, even in advanced countries with an efficient public health system like Spain. In this paper I demonstrate that the knowledge acquired by the medical students in the textbooks they use during their studies in the medical school about end-of-life care and better dying is minimal. The majority of those textbooks is in English, and/or published by international publishing houses. I analyze both, national and international textbooks, as far as they are actually included in the reading lists of the 44 courses of the six years of the Medical School at the University of Barcelona (Spain). I work with 2,868 textbooks used by the students and recommended by teachers. I analyze all those books classified as textbooks at the library of the Medical School and Hospital Clínico (teaching hospital funded in 1906) in the heart of Barcelona. It is the best medical school and the best medical library in the region. I review the textbooks by courses and medical specialties. Some of those courses --like public health, and medical psychology-- do not deal adequately with the care at the end-of-life. The transitions to death of terminal patients are absent. I only found relevant information in some textbooks (like oncology, family and community Medicine). But even in those cases the information is biased and not original. The terminal patient care --i.e. the transition to a better dying-- is neglected in the medical schools. A modern model of death (MMD) is still absent in the medical textbooks researched. The case of Spain is probably similar to other countries, as it uses practically the same textbooks, but that needs to be demonstrated using further data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green economy, green growth and sustainable development are currently very often used terms. There are many international organizations intensively involved in the field of green growth and sustainable development. Green growth, according to the OECD, is a way how to support economic growth and development, while protecting natural resources, so that we could continue to use the natural resources and environmental services, on which our prosperity depends. One of its aims, especially in developed countries, is green economy building and ensuring social and economic sustainable development. However, it is not always clear how to build a green economy or achieve social and economic activities in the sense of sustainable development. The European Union is a cluster of relatively homogeneous countries, based on similar social and economic development. Ensuring green growth and sustainable development should be a common, coordinated and targeted activity of all European Union countries. The main aim of the paper is to evaluate green growth and sustainable development in the European Union countries using the selected indicators of green growth and selected indicators of sustainable development, including assessment of interregional disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the concept of architectural context by cultural and disciplinary nature. The research will have a theoretical and cultural part on one hand and an instructive and operative part on the other. The transition from the industrial society to the information society has brought profound changes, even for what concerns the architecture and the way of operating of the architects. The word context could be interpreted in three different meanings, the first meaning is used through the concept of the place where the focus is on a specific morphology of the site, and the second meaning is the case of the social, historical and cultural context that influences a condition of operating in a specific area. The third one is the combination of both and is formed and deformed by the architecture. This reflection of the context in its multiple meanings and interpretations gives structure and support to the decision making at the early stage of the project, the moments of conceptual research from which will flow throughout the design approach and then allows the creative stage of the project to occur. The research deepens the compositional aspects of some projects developed and built by pioneering architects during the last century that have significant attention of the relation with the context. By analyzing these significant architectures, it is possible to understand the links between these various projects and therefore developing a schematic graphic clarifying the examined aspects. At the time of their creation, these methods and strategies of architecture have provoked many reactions, positive and/or negative, but mostly exciting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is meant to point out the phenomenon of loosing human capital, which became a characteristic aspects of the poor countries, that affects more and more their economy, in the favour of the developed countries. Even if this is a corollary of the globalization process, but the future for the developing countries will be not a good one, because of this exodus of brains; and even this is what our study is meant. The present approach is brought into light by qualitative means of observance, survey and study-case. The results of this research is quite a worrying situation for the donor countries, presenting the huge dimension, together with its economic and social consequences. Our paper could be useful both for the governments of these countries of origin, but also for researchers, academics and students. We hope that the readers will appreciate this attempt of awareness about the gravity of this situation and of its consequences for our country and remaining people here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functioning of a state is a complex process that primarily depends on the macroeconomic national system. During the functioning of the state, obstacles such as corruption arise in the system, reducing the effectiveness of the state. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyse the effects of corruption on the effectiveness of a state, observed through the results of measurable state activity. The aim of this research is to assess the direction, form and intensity of corruption effects on indicators of state activity. In order to assess the direction, intensity and form of the impact of corruption on indicators, correlation will be used for each of the segments/indicators of state activity. Furthermore, in order to get the final result and explanations of the relationship between corruption and state activity indicators, a comparison of one developed EU country - Germany - with a country in transition - Croatia - will be made. Given the research methodology, in addition to the classical methods of analysis and synthesis, the desk research method will be used, along with correlation coefficients. In order to get the final result and explain the connection between corruption and indicators of state activity, the method of comparison will be used to reach a final conclusion. Using this methodology, the conclusion will demonstrate the role of corruption in the state activity system. Also, the research is expected to show which segments of state activity are affected more by corruption and which are affected less or unaffected, and what is the effect of the impact of corruption on the success of state activity. In particular, it is expected that this research will identify the impact of corruption on the indicators of state activity in the field of entrepreneurship, which is the backbone of a national economy. It is difficult to predict the results before calculating the correlation, but the research hypothesis can be related, with great certainty, to the more visible impact of corruption on those segments of the state activity in which a part of the state budget is located. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous paper, the author had begun discoursing on the process of acculturating Korean/Hallyu soap opera aesthetics in television productions such as Only You, Lovers in Paris, and Kahit Isang Saglit. This paper attempts to expand the discussions of that "critico-personal" essay by situating the discussions on what may be described as the "diasporization" of the Filipino, and the Philippines, as constructed in recent soap operas namely, Princess and I, A Beautiful Affair, and Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw. In following the three "teleserye" texts, the author observes three hallyu aesthetic influences now operating in the local sphere--the "spectacularization" of the first world imaginary in foreign dramatic/fictional spaces as new "spectre of comparisons," quoting Benedict Anderson; the crafting of the Filipino character as postcolonially/neocolonially dispossessed; and the continued perpetration of the imagination of Filipino location as archipelagically--and consequently, nationally-- incoherent. The influences result in the aforementioned "diasporization," an important trope of simulated and dramaturgically crafted placelessness in the process of "imagining" Filipino "communities" and their sense of "historical" reality, while covering issues of the diasporic Filipino. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the knowledge in the library and information science (LIS) discipline is created and published by researchers in developed countries. Two roundtable sessions of ASIS&T SIG‐III with the ASIS&T Africa Chapter and ASIS&T South Asia Chapter, in early 2021, confirmed "the lack of a conducive research environment" as the primary reason for this inequality in the discipline and called for systematic efforts, like this panel, to (a) create awareness about this inequality and (b) start building a global support system for LIS researchers in developing countries. In the first 30 minutes of this panel, six LIS scholars with cultural roots, academic training, and research experience in developing countries will illustrate common challenges to conducting and publishing research in developing countries. In the next 30 minutes, attendees will be divided into groups, with each group facilitated by a panelist, to brainstorm solutions for addressing the challenges related to academic training for conducting and publishing research, accessing resources, institutional support, opportunities for research collaboration and funding, fieldwork, analyzing data, composing manuscripts, and finding mentors, among others. In the last 30 minutes, each group will present its findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographic security is a multifaceted phenomenon. In the study of demographic threats, dozens of indexes are investigated. It is difficult to conduct a comparative analysis of demographic threats in different countries across all indexes. To perform this kind of analysis, it is advisable to use integrated indexes. The construction and application of the integrated indexes in the assessment of various phenomena and processes makes it possible to take into account the main features of the object of research and to make comparisons. The paper presents an overview of approaches for constructing the integrated indexes. A system of statistical indexes for constructing an integrated index of the country's demographic security is proposed. The experimental calculation of the integrated indexes of the demographic security was carried out. Calculations were carried out for 45 countries: Russia, the USA, Japan, India, China and European countries. The basic data for the calculations were taken from open sources of statistical services of these countries. The analysis showed that Russia is the part of a group of countries with a high level of demographic threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breastfeeding outcomes vary significantly worldwide, even among high-income, industrialized countries. This paper examines the effects of welfare state policies and public health initiatives on breastfeeding initiation and duration among eighteen high-income, OECD countries. Using data compiled from national databases and surveys, I employ a qualitative comparative analysis to assess pathways leading to high and low breastfeeding initiation and duration. This research reveals that countries that are early adopters of international recommendations have the highest breastfeeding rates. My results also suggest that country-wide adherence to the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is significantly related to higher breastfeeding initiation. Finally, I find that women's representation in government and the political process is an important predictor of breastfeeding duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the connection between positivism, the claim that the social world can be studied like the natural world, and capitalism? The overwhelmingly dominant view common to both positivists themselves, and critical theorists is that positivism is a product of industrial capitalism or industrial society. In the light of this consensus our paper examines a "case" of positivism that clearly does not fit with these expectations. We show that positivism in Italy was widespread in the late nineteenth century, but was linked to Italy's perceived developmental failure not its success. The perceived failure of unification to achieve even development across the peninsula pushed northern intellectuals to theorize geographical differences as intrinsic, immutable, and at times racial. Even more paradoxically, this positivist wave began to break down when political solutions to the southern question appeared on both the right and left. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the use of ERP in developing countries, especially in developed countries, is of great concern, because in developed countries it is still being developed, especially for SMEs and still paying attention to large companies, so that all can make good use of ERP and have a beneficial impact on the company. This paper describes some of the advantages, challenges, success factors, differences before and after, and differences in ERP implementation in developing countries and in developed countries. Because if you look at it, there are still ERP implementation failures that cause losses for companies that invest in ERP and make other companies afraid or don't want to invest in ERP. So, the purpose of this paper is to explain that ERP utilization can be maximized and benefit the company such as reducing costs, more efficiency, and others if you take advantage of other approaches in ERP implementation such as CSF, ISP, and BPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A main concern of contemporary cities in developed countries is to provide an urban environment that encourages non-motorized transport. However, depending on the socio-cultural background of the city under study, specific parameters may demand to be considered. This paper tackles the study and assessment of the environmental qualities of Taipei city urban environment from the point of view of its walkability. The examination of the potentials of urban ambiances in Taipei city and the sensory stimuli they provide, is addressed through the analysis of a number of significant streets. These are studied in depth considering parameters related to the sensory experience of urban walking. The different stages of the methodology have been the following: the general exploration of an area of the city under study, the compilation of a list of parameters for analysis, the assessment of each selected street, and the assessment of the importance of each parameter by a group of residents through field surveys. This last stage has been carried out as an experiment on public participation in defining the assessing criteria. Out of the comparison between the previous sections, conclusions regarding successes, failures and challenges in generating healthy, sensory stimulating and walkable environments in Taipei city are extracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tourism and hospitality industry is a very dynamic one, with rapid changes and with trends that have to be taken into consideration for assuring good services according to the needs of tourists. One of the most important trends exhibited lately is senior tourism. The reality is that the population in developed countries is aging, and the same trend can be noticed in Middle and Eastern countries. There is a growing market for senior tourism and the organizations in the field have to adjust their activities to offer services and facilities appropriate for seniors. This paper seeks to present the general framework of senior tourism and the general conditions for developing tourism activity for seniors. The case study is based on research conducted in Germany by the authors in which we focused on identification of the main conditions and facilities that must exist at the level of an organization to offer services to seniors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased interest in health care is one of the main opportunities for the development of wellness tourism. The growing concern of people about their own health leads to an increase in demand for wellness services. The number of tourists motivated by improvement of physical and mental health is in constant growth. Wellness is one of the trends that has been increasingly present in recent years in all developed countries in Europe, the United States and the Far East. The aim of the paper is to explain wellness tourism phenomenon and to analyse the current state and the possibilities of wellness tourism development in Croatia. A large number of thermal springs, numerous healing factors and a long tradition of spas are the basis for the quality development of the wellness offer in Croatia. Wellness in Croatia is developing both in coastal and continental part. In the coastal part, these are mostly wellness centres within the hotel, while in the continental part, the basis for the development of wellness are spas. Continental part, with its preserved environment, should be the basis for the development of wellness tourism in Croatia. For quality development, it is necessary to properly use terms related to health tourism. Improper use of terminology, along with the lack of wellness standards, has led to the development of incomplete, and in some cases, poor quality wellness offer. To develop quality wellness offer, Croatia has to have strategy, but also standards which would assure usage of term "wellness" only for shareholders who provide quality service. Although there is no strategy for wellness tourism development in Croatia, some of the leading wellness companies have plans and strategies to follow in order to achieve the set goals, thus positioning Croatia in the wellness market in small steps. Croatia therefore needs new investments in existing wellness offer in order to rise on the list of top wellness destinations in Europe. Spa, wellness and finally health tourism mean exactly what we strive for - year-round business and profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outcome Based Education (OBE) is becoming the academic ringtone of the higher educational institutions of Indian nation. The incorporation of this system of education from the developed countries is intended to enhance the standards of present teaching and learning process to create graduates with attributes pertaining to the three domains of cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Inspite of the implementation of OBE, the objection against this system of education is still climbing its peak, which puts the educational experts in the state of chaos.To uphold such circumstances of commotions, it is essential to determine and rank the impacts of OBE in a systematic and scientific manner, to substantiate the efficiency of this contemporary system of education over the conventional. To make the ranking of the benefits in a highly organized and logical way, the concept of Linguistic concentric Fuzzy hypergraph is introduced in this paper. A new ranking model adjoining Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) and Linguistic Concentric Fuzzy Hypergraphs (LCFHG) is proposed in this research work to unlock the pathways of determining optimal decisions by the decision makers in the field of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have been conducted in studying the inflation-growth relationship. However, the relationship remains a contentious issue if there exists a trade-off between inflation and growth. We extend the study by considering the threshold relationship on inflation-growth by applying the static panel threshold regression (SPTR). The panel data study involves 18 developed countries over the period 1980–2016. Testing with inflation rate as threshold variable, our results capture the existence of threshold relationship between inflation and growth due to influences of inflation, producer price, trade openness, interest rate and population growth. In the first regime where the inflation rate is below or equal to threshold value, higher inflation is associated with higher output growth, implying a trade-off relationship exists. The higher threshold level of inflation is compensated with higher growth. Other determinants of growth include producer price, trade-openness, exchange rate, interest rate and population growth. Among these determinants, exchange rate and trade-openness have significant direct effect on growth. Although higher inflation may boost the economic growth, the policymaker should control the level of inflation in order to balance the objective of high growth and stable/lower inflation rate. Our result proven that higher inflation rate may lead to higher growth up to a certain threshold value, when exceed the threshold value, higher inflation may harm the economy. This is important for stable and sustainable economic growth in a longer term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]